Sports busting out all over in June

If May was the amuse-bouche of the sports menu, June looks set to provide an honest-togoodness appetizer. And, while the main courses may be some way off, there should be plenty for hungry fans to take in.

All right, it’s time to quickly drop that metaphor and get to the sports.

Horse Racing

The first jewel of the Triple Crown will be run June 20, but it won’t be the Kentucky Derby. Instead the Belmont Stakes, normally run third in the sequence, will kick things off.

But the race won’t look the same as in years past. No fans will pack Belmont’s sweeping grandstands. And, with threeyear-old horses having had limited options to race, organizers have decided that asking them to go the Belmont’s famed gruelling 1 1 ⁄ miles was too much 2 this year. Instead, they will race at a mere 1 1 ⁄ miles, making the 8 Belmont the shortest, instead of the longest, Triple Crown race.

Whoever wins the Belmont will have to wait some time to complete the Triple Crown. The Kentucky Derby is set for September and the Preakness for October.

Golf

The PGA Tour is planning to return in Fort Worth, Texas, on June 11, at an event that was postponed from its original May date. Tournaments will continue weekly, and the majors will start up with the PGA Championship in August.

A hunger for golf is definitely there: The exhibition match last week involving Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning drew the largest-ever golf ratings on a cable channel. The LPGA and the European tours are to follow in July.

Soccer

We’ve had German soccer for a few weeks now, and the other big European leagues are returning to action, as well: Spain on June 11, England on June 17 and Italy on June 20. Alone among the biggest leagues, France has decided to truncate its season and start with a new one in August.

England will also resume its FA Cup competition at the quarterfinal stage June 27.

Stateside, the National Women’s Soccer League will play its season as a 30-day mini-tournament that will begin on June 27.

Major League Soccer has not set a date for games to begin but could return in June, as well.

Auto Racing

IndyCar is readying to join NASCAR in returning to racing. Its first race will be held June 6 at Texas Motor Speedway. A fuller schedule will then begin in July.

The Indianapolis 500 is now scheduled for August.

The international Formula One circuit is being more cautious and won’t return until July, at the earliest.

Three teams sports

The above sports are all well and good but, to many North American fans, sports probably won’t start to feel normal until baseball, basketball and hockey return.

That isn’t expected to happen in June, though.

The furthest along is the National Hockey League, which announced plans for a 24-team playoff.

The National Basketball Association, Women’s NBA and especially Major League Baseball all have many more issues to resolve.

But, by June 19, Japanese baseball will join the already running South Korea and Taiwan leagues.